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Love Songs for Desperados
No full textFor their solo exhibition, Love Songs for Desperados, John Wood (b. 1969) and Paul Harrison (b. 1966) present several new oil paintings. One of them, some painted books, is their largest to date, painted on 24 panels depicting 690 book spines and titles. Complementing this fictional library and underlining their witty approach to the everyday are new sculptures and neons, making viewers ponder the power of art in daily life
Chesterfield, Scarbrough, and the Excise Bill: a new manuscript source
Full text linkA previously unpublished history of the Excise Crisis, written by Lord Chesterfield in 1761 and kept among his ‘loose papers’ after his death, provides an intriguing view of how members of the house of lords exerted influence on the Court – if not on the first minister – during this tumultuous period in 1733. Chesterfield recounts how the earl of Scarbrough, his closest friend, appealed to Queen Caroline to abandon the proposed Bill, which would have enriched the civil list and thereby increased support for the royal household. Scarbrough informed the queen that the soldiers in his regiment would not fire upon their fellow subjects, and that he would not lead them into such an action. Sir Robert Walpole dropped his scheme the next day. Chesterfield concludes his narrative by speculating about the queen's attitude towards her subjects, and by confessing that he was wrong to have opposed Walpole's scheme almost three decades earlier
An exploration of the long-term impact of political marketing campaigns on voter loyalty to female politicians in Ghana
No full textThis study investigates the role of political marketing in enhancing female political representation within Ghana’s electoral landscape. Despite growing global emphasis on gender equality in politics, women in Ghana continue to face significant barriers to political participation and electoral success. Drawing on Political Marketing Theory and employing a quantitative research design, the study explores how advertising, media engagement, and grassroots mobilization strategies influence voter support for female candidates (VSFC). The research further examines the moderating effects of socio-demographic factors, such as age, education, and income on the relationship between these political marketing strategies and electoral support. The findings provide empirical insights into how tailored campaign strategies can enhance the visibility and viability of female candidates. The study contributes to both theory and practice by advancing a conceptual model that integrates political marketing variables with socio-demographic moderators, and by offering practical recommendations for political parties, policymakers, and advocacy groups seeking to increase female representation in Ghanaian politics
A social worker-led evaluation of the professional capabilities framework
No full textIntroduced in 2012, England’s Professional Capabilities Framework (PCF) provided for the first time a service wide mechanism for assessing and developing professional practices against nine domains across education and career span. While innovative for its time, in the intervening decade, the PCF has neither been evaluated or revised. This paper details findings from a British Association of Social Workers (BASW) commissioned social worker-led evaluation of the framework. The evaluation examines how social workers use the PCF within their everyday roles, whether the nine domains can be improved, changed, or removed in any way and, whether the PCF is fit for purpose. The study utilized a mixed-methods research design consisting of an expert panel curated, online, eighteen-point, open-ended survey (n = 278) followed by individual semi-structured interviews (n = 16). The survey sample was representative of the workforce (ethnicity, age). Findings show near 80 per cent of respondents consider the PCF fit for purpose with recommended improvements including: clearer centring of social justice; integration of super domains; an improved career framework; emphasis on reflection; and clearer professional leadership definition. We conclude by calling on BASW to implement these recommendations, and reflect on the potential importance of the PCF to nations outside of the England
Impacts of chopped food on primate behavior are not clear cut. A case study on zoo‐housed ring‐tailed lemurs
Full text linkMeasuring how food presentation influences behavior helps encourage practices that support natural foraging efforts for species housed in zoos. To test the effect of food presentation on a commonly housed zoo primate, observations of the behavior of ring-tailed lemurs (Lemur catta), housed at Tropiquaria Zoo in the UK, were undertaken to analyze how different food presentation conditions elicited variation in activity budgets, positive behavioral diversity, and performance of foraging behavior. Lemur behaviors were analyzed in relation to two food presentation conditions (chopped produce and whole produce) using a Shannon's Diversity Index (H-index) adapted for behavioral data. A repeated measures ANOVA was used to investigate whether factors including weather, temperature, and visitor presence had an impact on foraging behavior or if food presentation style was the most important factor. Higher rates of foraging and exploration (locomotion) were observed when lemurs were fed chopped food, whereas animals spent more time eating and performing maintenance behaviors when provided with whole food. There was no significant difference in calculated positive behavioral diversity between chopped and whole food. Food presentation style and weather conditions were important influences of time spent foraging, but temperature and visitor presence had no effect. Our findings show how other influencing factors, alongside of food presentation style, are likely to affect how zoo animals engage with, and ultimately consume, the diet they are offered. We suggest that providing zoo-housed lemurs with both chopped and whole food items is likely to promote a range of natural foraging behaviors and enhance overall animal welfare outputs
What factors affect the adoption intention and actual use of ChatGPT in higher education? The moderating role of academic integrity
No full textThe adoption of generative AI in education has revolutionized science by producing human-like texts through contextual understanding, as OpenAI ChatGPT shows. OpenAI's widely used large language model, such as ChatGPT, has become quite popular, especially in higher education. This study examines different factors influencing the adoption and actual use of ChatGPT to improve student learning outcomes. The supporting theory (UTAUT2) is applied to back our conceptual framework. This study applies the PLS-SEM method for inspecting collected data from 361 Pakistani university students. The findings reveal that performance expectancy, effort expectancy, ChatGPT self-efficacy, social influence, hedonic motivation, and price value significantly influence ChatGPT adoption intention. Conversely, habit and facilitation conditions negatively influence ChatGPT adoption intention. Furthermore, results show that ChatGPT adoption intention significantly influences the actual use of ChatGPT. Additionally, academic integrity is a significant moderator between adoption intention and influences actual use of ChatGPT. The study's findings offer valuable implications for educators and policymakers, emphasizing the need to enhance students' use of ChatGPT. By maintaining academic integrity, institutes can support responsible adoption, ensuring ChatGPT's effective use to improve learning outcomes in higher education
Writing toward nature: crafting a more-than-human novel & 'Leafskin'
No full textThis thesis includes the novel, Leafskin, and the contextual research “Writing Toward
Nature: Crafting a More-than-Human Novel.” The project, as a whole, is my attempt, as
the contextual describes, to write toward nature, to reach out to the more-than-human
and create space for it in the craft of the novel as well as its subject. Leafskin is a story
of characters trying to connect with the more-than-human in our time of ecological
crisis and I wanted the craft decisions I made while writing the manuscript to support
and deepen this aspect of the story. To this end, as I wrote, I considered the structure,
form, and genre of the novel. Chapter One, informed by recent work in econarratology,
traces my attempts to find a narrative structure for Leafskin inspired by forms in nature.
Chapter Two explores techniques I employed to allow the more-than-human to shape
the language and form of my novel through the influence of ecopoetics. Chapter Three
engages with the place of folklore in my novel, exploring the ways that inhabiting the
spaces between the realistic and the magical can open up liminal spaces that challenge
human/nature binaries and divisions. The novel itself is the story of a queer poet
engaging with her connections to nature while living through the realities of climate
change and creating her family alongside her art. Taken together, this project explores
nature-inspired craft techniques creatively while also describing the experience of
employing them and contextualizing them within the sphere of contemporary ecological
writing
Interfacial scores: indeterminacy of performing means as composition strategy
Full text linkThis thesis investigates the concept of interfacial scores, a distinct category of open scores that allow
for alternative interpretations using substantially different performing means. Drawing on a broad
range of examples, from mid-20th-century experimental traditions to contemporary practices, the
research examines how interfacial scores function as mediators between composer intent and
performer agency. It explores their potential to foster creativity and adaptability across varied
performance contexts while highlighting their evolution to embrace diverse media and paradigms.
Central to this exploration are the notions of activity, time, and space—categories systematically
analysed and developed throughout the study as integral compositional elements within interfacial
scores.
Given that interfacial scores do not specify the exact means of performance, the thesis turns to
performance theory to investigate what composers of such scores do notate. By examining the shared
characteristics underlying all performing means, the study identifies the fundamental elements that
guide performers in interpreting these works. Furthermore, it addresses how performance is framed,
considering the interplay of context, space, and time in shaping the realisation of interfacial scores.
The study is guided by four key research questions addressing the structural and conceptual
foundations of interfacial scores: the specific elements composers include, the language and
notational strategies they employ, the historical trajectory of these works, and the potential for
systematising these approaches into a coherent framework. Through these inquiries, the thesis
establishes a comprehensive taxonomy of compositional strategies, offering a practical schema for the
analysis and creation of interfacial scores.
Ultimately, this thesis serves as both an academic and practical resource, providing a toolbox for
composers and performers to engage with interfacial scores in innovative ways. It also lays the
groundwork for future research, particularly in integrating these scores with emerging technologies
and interdisciplinary practices, advancing their role as a transformative medium for creative
expression and analysis